<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Most Damning Reason by klarolineagainnaturally</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243603">The Most Damning Reason</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/klarolineagainnaturally/pseuds/klarolineagainnaturally'>klarolineagainnaturally</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries &amp; Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Klaroline, Sweet, a gift for giulia to make her melt, i said what i said, tvd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:28:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243603</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/klarolineagainnaturally/pseuds/klarolineagainnaturally</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Birthday gift for Giulia! </p><p>Prompt:"We got paired up in this project together and oh fuck i’ve been harboring a crush on you for like two years what do i do now (mutual pining included)"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Most Damning Reason</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This wasn’t how Caroline had imagined their first time alone. She had been doodling away little flowers and insignificant characters (nothing like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious</span>
  </em>
  <span> students in her Art class) when Mr. Saltzman called out their pairings for a ‘fun’, end of year project. He was a nice man but Mr. Saltzman was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> an art teacher (even </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew that) and if he thought art students of </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>people</span>
  <span> would enjoy creative collaboration, he was sorely mistaken. Really, she had felt sorry for the poor person that he would choose to work with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a shameful secret, but she had chosen Art on a whim. When Senior class sign-ups had been posted, she agonised over what would look best on her college applications. Bonnie had gone for Computer Science and the twins, Elena and Katherine, had opted for Creative Writing and Drama respectively. All three had pleaded with her to sign up with them but she really had no interest in any of their choices. She had been resolute when she approached the board, concluding Politics to be her best bet, but when she saw Klaus Mikaelson etching his name onto the clipboard for Art, she yearned.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> stupid and she wouldn’t dare to let anyone know, but she had been crushing on him ever since the first week of Junior year. All throughout Freshman and Sophomore year, she swore she hated him with her very fibre, but on one fateful September day when she was at her worst, he asked her if she was okay. At the time, no one else had noticed how much she was struggling. She had been given the obligatory ‘your dad left you’ week of sadness and then it was like everyone expected her to be over it. So when Klaus Mikaelson of all people, a guy she had written off as smug and self-obsessed, was concerned for her, it triggered something deep in her brain. We’re talking a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘C+K’ doodles across the notebook</span>
  </em>
  <span> worthy crush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Katherine had grilled her about choosing Art, she lied like a lying liar MCLIARSON and said it was because it was an easy pass. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, was that a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>sucked</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Everyone else, especially Klaus, was freaking AMAZING at art while she struggled to draw a stick figure. And then when he slumped into the seat next to her in their first class and asked her why she chose Art, she lied again! She knew she couldn’t say it was because Art was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy pass</span>
  </em>
  <span>; that would mean that </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the fool stupid enough to think such a thing. No, she told him she had been too late for sign ups and Art was the only thing left. And THEN when he mentioned seeing her at sign ups, she lied a third time! </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, I was at the dentist that morning.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So here they were, alone in an empty art room, stood around a long stretch of paper. When Mr. Saltzman designated him as her partner, she felt an overwhelming suffocation. When she had signed up for the class, she didn’t really think she would be interacting with him. Maybe a few words here and there across the room, their usual cracks and banter that left her more energised than irritated, but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, lie down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had been lost in thought when he made the request. His striking voice shook her into reality and her lashes fluttered as she attempted to comprehend it. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus presented a closed grin and proceeded to gesture with a permanent marker to the large space of paper on the floor. “I need to trace you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” She laughed lamely and muttered, “Right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Flattening the back of her skater skirt, she crouched onto her knees, sat onto her butt and awkwardly adjusted until she was lying down. She frowned at him stifling his amusement. He could laugh all he wanted, but she wasn’t about to risk flashing the </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> boy she had liked for more than a week.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He raised both eyebrows at her and she greeted him in irritation, holding two palms out. “Can you make this quick? I have places to be,” she huffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus watched for another moment and she knew he was waiting for her to burst out with another complaint. She wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction. She folded her arms and stared at the ceiling above.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need to pull your arms down, love,” he reminded her, his dimples punishing her vulnerable state.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline scrunched her nose up but obliged. It was only then that he crouched onto his knees at the bottom of her feet. She tensed at the sensation of his hand grazing her ankle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you really have to wear a skirt?” he grumbled as the pen glided against the paper. “Don’t you own any trousers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she answered bitingly, squinting into the air. “And I’m wearing shorts underneath so don’t even think of reaching up my skirt or I will chop your,” she was quick to whisper, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>dick,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she raised her volume, “off with Mr. Saltzman’s paper trimmer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noted,” his muttering was not without humour as he directed a smirk her way. He began to trace along the insides of her legs. “Someone had better put that trimmer to good use. Mr. Saltzman’s more likely to cut off his tie before he trims paper.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pressed her lips together, refusing to offer a reply while his hand was in the most damning of places. Yes, okay, she had pants, but she wasn’t going to admit that she totally spaced on the practicality of their project. Maybe she had been thinking about her visual presentation a little too much...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” he mused as he traced the outside of her legs, “I always thought Art was an odd choice of class for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline shivered when his knuckle brushed against her bare skin. “I told you I was late for sign-ups.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus hummed softly, “Mm yes…” He ran the pen up the side of her body, glancing at her evading eyes. “And as I recall it, you were at the dentist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She let her head roll gently against the paper, her brows furrowing. “Yes…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s funny, that,” he noted simply and drew along the dips between her fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could feel her breath hitching. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he knew. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Somehow</span>
  </em>
  <span> he knew. He was about to rub whatever evidence he had found in her face and she would just...</span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Still, she remained aloof as she spoke, “Are you going to tell me why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just that…” He seemed to trail off into thought as he finished tracing her left hand. Finally, he lifted the pen and tapped the lidded side against his chin. “If I know Caroline Forbes, she would never risk missing out something as important as class sign-ups.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline twisted her lips in all his musings, but regained her composure with a scoff, “The dentist doesn’t really work around people’s schedules, Klaus.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus smirked, the breath leaving his nostrils so unfairly attractive. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was that a thing?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she wondered. Could you be attracted to someone’s breathing? No… She wrinkled her nose as she felt him run the pen along the side of her arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took his time, but when the ink finally reached her shoulder, he was hovering so closely above her. His voice lowered until it was almost a whisper, “I know you were there, Caroline. I know I saw you.” She resisted the flare of surprise that teased her lashes. He grinned and flicked the satin accessory atop her hair. “You were wearing the same headband that day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline swallowed hard. She was too nervous to really consider that he had remembered such an insignificant detail. He really thought he had her beat, his grin taunting her from above. She let her eyes roam across his face before she challenged him, “Fine. I took it as an easy pass. Sue me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That would do. At least that way her stories would be consistent if he so chose to make friends with Katherine, a thought that would make the most serious of people giggle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you did, love,” he proposed, the air stilling between them. “You’re too smart for that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, that was all she had. Almost a full school year in that class and she had really thought two excuses were enough. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> considered saying she mixed up the clipboards...until she realised it was already the plot to a Disney film.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus hummed delightfully, leaning down to mark around the nape of her neck. “So that begs the question: why </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> you choose art? I know it’s not because you have a sudden desire to study Degas.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mouth felt dry and her hands became clammy. She so wished for a glass of water or for him to look away just long enough that she could wipe her hands on her skirt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought. If she was going down, she was going down. They only had two months left and she could survive a little rejection. She had survived them in the past. No Klaus Mikaelson was going to change that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Licking her lips and piercing her gaze into his, she relented, “For you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline watched the cogs turn in his head. The poor guy was barely even registering it. Maybe she could play it off as a joke like </span>
  <em>
    <span>haha got you, I actually took it ‘cause I’m secretly the descendent of Pablo Picasso himself.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” he finally spluttered, his brows stitching closely together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline exhaled heavily, her lips puffing out. She clasped her hands on her torso and murmured, “I did it because I wanted to be...in the same class as you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the gradual sweep of her eyes landed on his face, he was in the most obvious state of confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pen in Klaus’ hand had now slipped from his grasp but his face didn’t move an inch. “I’m not following, love.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, this was painful. Someone up there was doing this to her on purpose. She was too far along to backtrack and not far </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough</span>
  </em>
  <span> to spill her guts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline winced as he stared down at her, his expression unreadable. This was the sort of moment in which she would become lost in his charming eyes and think about what it would be like to steal a kiss from his pink lips. And yet, all she could think of was how </span>
  <em>
    <span>embarrassed</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was! There was no way he liked her back!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t take it any longer to see him so perplexed. “Oh my </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Do I have to spell it out for you?” her harsh remark saw his head pulling back. She shut her eyes tight and flitted her fingers out. “I like you! I like you and your stupid dimples and your </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>, pretty eyes!” With one last huff she folded her arms across her chest. If she had to stare at him all day until he got it, she would.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus looked to be considering her words, his hand pressed carefully beside her head as she glared. He looked down and away from her, nodding. Though she was ready to give it up, Caroline was soon given a response as he brushed his lips against hers in one swift motion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t feel like fireworks. It felt like lightning. Like someone had struck her down and she had little ability to recover from it. The soft touch of his lips against hers was more than she had imagined. There was no advice on what to do next, she just let her eyes fall shut in time with his, her hand instinctively raising to his cheek.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline whimpered softly as his movements urged her into his space, his free hand wrapping itself in her blonde curls. Klaus grazed her bottom lip with his tongue and she shivered. Her thumb swiped along his jawline and she allowed him entrance into her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was sweet, soft, and slow. There was no battle for dominance or desire to beat the clock. She was lying on the paper, lost in his grasp. She would be too stubborn to admit just how much she adored his lips against hers and how much she wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When their environment finally set in, Klaus pressed one last kiss to the corner of her mouth. She was in a haze of warmth and excitement, her lashes lifting open at a glacial pace. She knew that the moment she offered her gaze, he would have her right where he wanted her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With those damn dimples and cat-like smile, he asked, “You think my eyes are pretty?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caroline offered a bitter grin in response. “Only when you don’t tease me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Klaus brought his hand up to her wrist, running his fingers along her arm. “Well, sweetheart, I think I’ll have to tease you even more in that case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re an idiot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your idiot.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>COMMENTS ENCOURAGED AND APPRECIATED!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Happy birthday Giulia! I think the last line was too sickly sweet even for me lmao I HOPE YOU LOVED IT &lt;3</b>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>